Prior art engraving machines are heavy and costly devices. Moreover, other prior art devices have problems of momentum and backlash cutter bounce and other problems which are avoided in the present invention.
One example of prior art photoengravers is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,372,618. There a heavy and expensive lathe bed is used in a complicated system.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,207 is an example of a photoelectric follower and a cutter mounted on the same carriage. The pattern does not rotate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,303 is an example of a pattern follower and cutter mounted on the same carriage. The pattern tape moves, but does not rotate in the same way as the spindle which is being cut.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,548 describes a photoelectric follower on the same carriage as a cutter.
Austrian Pat. No. 212,665 is an example of a template and workpiece mounted on separate parallel spindles and with a follower and cutter mounted on a single carriage adjacent the spindles.